Colony of British North Borneo Birth Certificate

I found this in my mother's closet. Thought i'll post it up here. It's a very rare piece of paper that was issued when Sabah (then known as British North Borneo) is still under British rule.

The first one belongs to my grandfather. Oh yeah, he is still alive and going strong hence the word "belongs" instead of "belonged". He was born in 1925 but only officially registered with the public registration department in 1954.

As you can see, he was born in Kuala Penyu. A small village not too far from Beaufort. His father's name is Tay Sin Tiap. A first generation migrant from Imperial China. China was still under the Machurian Qing dynasty rule when he fled Imperial China. His mother is a local Sino-Dusun named Wong Anggut.

This one belongs to my grandmother. She was born in Jesselton (now with the not so fancy name Kota Kinabalu, thanks to dumbo Harris i guess) in 1932. Her father is Chong Pon Soh, a second or third generation migrant from Imperial China. Her mother's name is Michino Hee. Her grandmother is a Japanese named Ochaiyi Shirakawa who came to Jesselton in the 18th century and eventually married with a local Sino-Native man hence the Japanese-sounding first name for her mother, or my great-grandmother.

Thanks to both my grandparents, i am accorded as Bumiputra under the Malaysian constitution and eligible to invest in Amanah Saham Bumiputra (ASB). HAHAHA